A Syrian man was punched and kicked after a violent racist outburst which left a 12-year-old girl in tears.

Hakam Kharsa was told to “go back to where you came from” after he’d asked brute Shaun Willans to move his BMW car, which was blocking Dunoon Close in Ragworth, Stockton.

Willans, 29, became irate after asking if Mr Kharsa was English, punching him in the face and landing a volley of kicks to his leg.

Teesside Crown Court heard that a 12-year-old girl, playing out with two friends, screamed and cried after seeing the vicious attack which broke Mr Kharsa’s spectacles and left him on crutches, missing three weeks of work.

The assault took place on September 8 last year, when Mr Kharsa was delivering food to another home on the cul-de-sac.

Willans was sat in his BMW car, and reacted angrily when asked to move.

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield said: “The defendant walked towards the victim and shouted ‘are you English?’ When he replied no, he was swore at and punched to the face. He was then kicked viciously which left him with a swollen knee. As he escaped, he was swore at again.”

Hakam Kharsa

Mr Kharsa faced his attacker in court to read a statement, and said: “This incident has left me feeling really bad, it made the little girl very sad, they were crying. I was very sad and feeling very upset.

“I feel unsafe, even when I am walking in the street. I feel like if I say hello to someone I’m going to get punched in the face and I feel scared even with my kids.”

Judge Bourne Arton said due to the extent of the injuries, he was surprised Willans had not been charged with causing actual bodily harm - and asked Mr Hadfield to pass on his concerns to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Defending, Paul Abrahams said that photos and details of Mr Kharsa’s injuries could not increase Willans’ sentence, as they had only been introduced at his sentencing hearing.

Willans, of Norton Road, Stockton, had been found guilty of racially aggravated common assault at a Teesside Magistrates’ Court trial in May.

“He denied these offences and continues to deny them,” said Mr Abrahams.

“His record, whilst poor, has been improving to a degree. He works as a personal trainer, and he has a fiancee,” he continued.

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Last July, Willans received a nine month jail sentence, suspended for two years, by Judge Bourne Arton for his part in an affray involving his two brothers as one of his 10 convictions, for 15 offences.

That offence saw “bare-chested and demanding to fight” Shaun Willans accompany his brothers to a Billingham home. One man had ammonia squirted in his face from a bottle by his brother James.

The judge said: “You carried out an unprovoked attack on this man, simply because he was a foreigner. Anyone who attacks someone for this reason on the streets of this town can expect to be punished severely.”

He imposed Willans suspended sentence and ordered he spend another seven months on top of that in prison, jailing him for 16 months in total.